28 Dec 97, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm, Snowy Range Ski Area and Snowy Range:
Volunteered a duty day at the Snowy Range Ski Area. Took along a
USFS radio. At about 11:00 am, in response to a radio contact from
Centennial Visitors' Center and a request from Neil Mathison, began participating
in an off-area search for two overdue snowmobilers. The missing adults
(1 male, 1 female) were reputed to have headed toward Brown's Peak and
The Gap on Sat 27 Dec, expecting to be back by 6:00 pm that evening.
Also participating in the search, led by the Albany County Sheriff's office,
was nordic patroller Tom Plawman.
Searched on snowmobile with a party of 3 others (Lisa Marno
and two Sheriff's office personnel) in the area northeast and north of
Brown's Peak. We left the staging area at Green Rock at about 1:30 pm and
turned back at about 3:30 pm to avoid getting benighted. Conditions
were harsh, with bitter cold, high winds, whiteout, evidence of slab avalanching
on the lower slopes of Brown's Peak, and difficult sledding in deep drifts
north of the peak. The search ended for the day unsuccessfully at about
4:30 pm, to be resumed the next day. (See Tom
Plawman's patrol log for additional information about another search
crew. See my next patrol log for a report
of the next day's search).
SNOWPIT DATA Observer: Myron Allen Date and Time: 7:30 am, 28 December 1997 Location: N. bank Nash Fork at Green Rock Elevation: 9800 feet Surface Roughness: Smooth Aspect: South facing, shady Incline: 6 degrees Sky: Clear Precipitation: None Wind: Strong, NW Surface snow: Wind slab Foot penetration: 25 cm =============================================================================== H (cm) R F D (mm) W Shovel Comment H (cm) T (C) =============================================================================== Air -14 0 0 -15 FIST Rounded < 1 Dry Recent wind slab 10 -12 15 ---------------------------------- Easy ------------------------------------ 1F Ptly faceted Dry 20 -10 21 30 -8 2F Dry 40 -6 50 -4 52 ---------------------------------- Easy --- Old surface ------------------- FIST Faceted 1 Dry Depth hoar 60 -2 70 -1 73 Ice 75 Ground 0 =============================================================================== Remarks: High winds, bitter cold, and new snow produced a wind slab that was poorly adhered to older snow. Saw the scar of a slab avalanche on a wind- loaded northeast slope of Brown's Peak later in the day, while participating in a search-and-rescue operation. Additional new snow and high winds occured during the subsequent 24 hours. Among the informal signs of instability gathered while searching the backcountry on 29 Dec were settling noises, fractures formed by ski cuts in the snow, and movement of miniature slabs by pushing with skis during travel. These signs suggest extreme caution in the backcountry.29 Dec 97, 7:30 am - 5:30 pm, Snowy Range. Participated again in the Sheriff's search for two overdue snowmobilers. Today the search involved many people from various agencies as well as citizen volunteers. Other ski patrollers involved included Bevin Frost, Sandy Frost, and Nathan Ker. Sandy, Nathan, and I searched along the North Fork Little Laramie River. The rationale for searching that route was as follows: on Saturday afternoon, a snowmobiler with an itinerary similar to the missing party's had turned down the North Fork drainage, apparently disoriented in the whiteout near Brown's Peak. That individual got his machine stuck along the North Fork trail, spent Saturday night in the woods, and walked out through deep snow Sunday morning. There seemed to be some chance that the missing couple, thought to have been sledding around the east end of Brown's Peak, could have followed his tracks into the North Fork.